Packers-Browns Preseason Week 2 Dope Sheet

Two years after he co-founded the Packers with Curly Lambeau, George Calhoun began writing a piece called The Dope Sheet, which served as the official press release and game program from 1921-24.

Honoring Calhoun, the first publicity director, the Packers are running this weekly feature as their release, which is being made available to fans exclusively on Packers.com. This is an abbreviated version of the Packers-Browns Preseason Week 2 Dope Sheet. To read the full version, download the PDF by clicking here.

Here are some highlights from the Packers-Browns Preseason Week 2 Dope Sheet:

The Packers return to Green Bay on Thursday night to host the Cleveland Browns at Lambeau Field in the team’s home preseason opener. This marks the fourth straight year (2009-12) that the teams have squared off in the preseason.

Thursday marks the 24th preseason meeting in the all-time series between Cleveland and Green Bay. The Browns registered a 27-17 victory over the Packers last year in Cleveland in the preseason opener and hold a 13-10-0 advantage in the all-time preseason series.

Including this Thursday’s meeting, the two clubs have played each other in eight of the past 13 preseasons.

This will mark the first time since 2005 (vs. San Diego) that the Packers have opened their home preseason slate on a Thursday night.

The two franchises have produced some of the greatest teams and players the league has ever seen. The Packers rank second among all teams with players enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with 21, while the Browns are sixth with 16. Green Bay has 13 NFL championships, while Cleveland has four.

The series includes one postseason meeting, the 1965 NFL Championship played in Green Bay and won by the Packers, 23-12. Green Bay holds a 10-7-0 edge in the all-time regular-season series.

Green Bay lost to the Chargers at San Diego, 21-13, in its preseason opener on Thursday night. The Packers will travel to Cincinnati a week from Thursday to take on the Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium, Green Bay’s first trip to Cincinnati in the preseason since 2006.

MIDWEST SHRINE GAME

One of the NFL’s longest team traditions, the Upper Midwest Shrine Game kicks off its 63rd installment Thursday night.

Each season, the Packers donate a percentage of the gate to the Shriners Hospitals for Children. The Shriners’ facilities provide specialized medical services, helping children with birth defects and other injuries, at absolutely no cost.

To date, the series has raised more than $3.4 million for the Midwest Shrine’s burn centers and hospitals for disabled children.

Green Bay is 32-27-3 all-time in the series. This will mark the third time in the past four years (also 2009 and 2010) that the Packers have faced the Browns in the Shrine Game.

The series has called three separate stadiums home: Milwaukee’s State Fair Park (1950-51), Milwaukee County Stadium (1952-82, 1984-94) and Lambeau Field (1983, 1995-present).

In his first season leading the Packers, Vince Lombardi made an agreement with George Halas to play in the Shrine game annually. Green Bay and Chicago played each preseason in County Stadium from 1959-73.

The Packers annually designate the Shrine game as the first ‘Gold package’ game for season-ticket holders primarily from the Milwaukee area. The team created the three-game package after moving all of its home games to Green Bay in 1995. Also in the ‘Gold package’ this season are the contests against Chicago (Sept. 13) and Arizona (Nov. 4).

WITH THE CALL

Flagshipped by Milwaukee’s WTMJ-TV and in conjunction with WGBA-TV in Green Bay, the game will be televised over a 14-station network throughout the state of Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, northeastern Minnesota, the Quad Cities and Des Moines in Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska.

In its first season, in conjunction with the Packers TV Network, Telemundo Wisconsin (WYTU-TV in Milwaukee and on Charter Cable elsewhere in Wisconsin) will broadcast the final three preseason games with Andy Olivares (play-by-play) and Kevin Holden (analyst) calling the action.

Milwaukee’s WTMJ (620 AM), airing Green Bay games since 1929, heads up the 53-station Packers Radio Network, with Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) and two-time Packers Pro Bowler Larry McCarren (color) calling the action. The duo enters its 14th season of broadcasts together across the Packers Radio Network, which covers 44 markets in six states.

The game will also be televised live nationally on NFL Network

THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK’S OPPONENT:

Packers vs. Cleveland Browns:

All-time regular season: 10-7-0

All-time, in Green Bay: 2-1-0 (incl. 1965 NFL Championship)

All-time, postseason: 1-0

All-time, preseason: 10-13-0

Streaks: Green Bay has won five of the last seven regular-season meetings.

One of only two coaches, along with New Orleans’ Sean Payton, to have his offense ranked in the top 10 in total yardage each season from 2006-11.

Was named Packers head coach on Jan. 12, 2006, his first head-coaching job after 13 years as an NFL assistant.

Became the first Packers coach since Lombardi to lead the team to a championship game in his second season (2007).

PAT SHURMUR…Is in second year as the Browns’ 13th head coach.

Spent 12 seasons as an NFL assistant (Philadelphia, 1999-2008; St. Louis, 2009-10), where he was a part of teams that qualified for the playoffs seven times and won five division crowns.

Served as the offensive coordinator for the Rams from 2009-10, where he helped tutor QB Sam Bradford. With Philadelphia, spent his first three seasons tutoring the tight ends and the final seven coaching the quarterbacks.

Earned All-Big Ten honors as a center at Michigan State in 1987, and was the school’s first graduate student football player, with a master’s degree in financial administration.

His uncle, the late Fritz Shurmur, was the Packers’ defensive coordinator from 1994-98 and coached in the NFL for 24 seasons overall.

THE PACKERS-BROWNS SERIES

The two teams have met a total of 18 times dating back to 1953.

That includes one postseason meeting, the 1965 NFL Championship played in Green Bay and won by the Packers, 23-12.

The 1965 title game marked Cleveland’s first and only trip to Green Bay until 2001. From 1953-83, the Packers played host to the Browns in Milwaukee five times.

The Packers own the longest winning streak in the series, five straight from 1961-67 (including 1965 title game).

The Browns’ win in 2005 was the franchise’s first at Lambeau Field in three tries.

NOTABLE CONNECTIONSOhio natives on Green Bay’s roster include TE Tom Crabtree (Carroll), LB A.J. Hawk (Centerville), CB Otis Merrill (Cleveland), RB Brandon Saine (Piqua), CB Charles Woodson (Fremont) and DE Jerel Worthy (Huber Heights)...Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers grew up in Buffalo, Ohio, where he attended Meadowbrook High School...Capers also attended Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio...Packers QB Graham Harrell attended the Browns’ rookie minicamp on a tryout basis in both 2009 and 2010...Browns president Mike Holmgren is the former head coach of the Packers (1992-99) who led the team to six consecutive playoff appearances, back-to-back Super Bowls, and the Super Bowl XXXI championship in 1996...Holmgren’s senior advisor, Gil Haskell, coached both Green Bay’s RBs (1992-94) and WRs (1995-97) under Holmgren in Green Bay...Browns senior assistant-defense Ray Rhodes was Green Bay’s head coach in 1999 and also served as the defensive coordinator from 1992-93...Browns defensive coordinator Dick Jauron coached on the staff in Green Bay from 1986-94...Browns linebackers coach Bill Davis coached on Green Bay’s staff in 2000 and was on the San Francisco staff in 2005 with Packers head coach Mike McCarthy...Davis also coached with Capers in Pittsburgh and Carolina...Browns strength and conditioning coach Kent Johnston held the same post under Holmgren in Green Bay (1992-98)...Browns head coach Pat Shurmur’s uncle, Fritz Shurmur, was Green Bay’s defensive coordinator from 1994-98...Browns offensive coordinator Brad Childress coached on the staff at the University of Wisconsin from 1992-98...Browns senior assistant-offense Nolan Cromwell served on Green Bay’s coaching staff from 1992-98...Browns defensive backs coach Tim Hauck played in 58 games at safety for the Packers over four seasons (1991-94)...Browns VP of football operations, Mark Schiefelbein, spent 18 years (1992-2009) in the Packers’ front office...Clay Matthews Jr., the father of Packers LB Clay Matthews III, played the first 16 of his 19 seasons in the NFL for the Browns (1978-93)...Browns RB Brandon Jackson was a second-round draft choice of the Packers in 2007 and played four seasons (2007-10) in Green Bay...Browns TE Evan Moore was with the Packers during training camp in 2008-09 and spent the ’08 season with the team on injured reserve...Browns DL Scott Paxson spent time on the Packers’ practice squad in 2006...Browns OL Stanley Daniels spent time on Green Bay’s practice squad in 2009...Browns T Joe Thomas played collegiately at the University of Wisconsin and attended Brookfield (Wis.) Central High...Browns tight ends coach Steve Hagen was Packers TE Ryan Taylor’s position coach at North Carolina from 2007-08...Packers LB D.J. Smith and Browns WR Mohamed Massaquoi won multiple state championships together at Independence High in Charlotte, N.C.

LAST MEETING, PRESEASON

Aug. 13, 2011, at Cleveland Browns Stadium; Browns won, 27-17.

In two series of work, QB Aaron Rodgers connected on 6-of-8 passes for 74 yards, capping the second drive off with a 21-yard TD pass to WR Greg Jennings.

In his first pro game, WR Randall Cobb led the Packers with three receptions for 60 yards (20.0 avg.).

QB Colt McCoy led Cleveland with 135 yards and a TD on 9-of-10 passing.

PACKERS FALL TO SAN DIEGO IN PRESEASON OPENER

Green Bay opened its preseason slate with a nationally televised contest at San Diego, with the Chargers getting the 21-13 win in front of 55,527 at Qualcomm Stadium.

QB Graham Harrell led the offense on two touchdown drives, finishing the contest with 135 passing yards and a TD on 15-of-27 passing for an 81.6 passer rating.

Harrell’s TD pass came late in the first half when he connected with WR Randall Cobb for a 3-yard scoring strike. Harrell completed 5-of-6 passes on the drive for 68 yards.

Cobb finished the game with a team-high 58 yards receiving on four receptions (14.5 avg.).

With the Packers trailing 14-7 early in the fourth quarter, Harrell led the offense on a 14-play, 68-yard drive that was capped off with a 1-yard TD run by RB Marc Tyler, but Green Bay was unable to convert the two-point conversion that would have given Green Bay the lead.

QB Aaron Rodgers and the No. 1 offense played the first quarter of the game (three series), but two turnovers prevented them from generating any points.

Following a fumble by WR Diondre Borelon a first-quarter kickoff return that gave the Chargers possession at the Green Bay 17, CB Tramon Williams jumped a route to pick off QB Philip Rivers’ pass intended for WR Robert Meachem.

The defense added two more takeaways on the evening, with LB A.J. Hawk recovering a Rivers fumble in the first quarter and S Anthony Levine picking off a QB Jarrett Lee pass in the third quarter.

The offense was without three injured starters in TE Jermichael Finley (quad), WR Greg Jennings (concussion) and T Marshall Newhouse(concussion), while the defense was without DB Charles Woodson (rest).

WHERE THEY'LL BE THURSDAY NIGHTCoaches often use the preseason as a test to see where players are best utilized. Head Coach Mike McCarthy is on the sidelines, but here’s a look at where the rest of the staff will be Thursday:

After enjoying a day off on Friday following the game on Thursday night at San Diego, the Packers will hit the practice field four times this week, with three of the four sessions (Sunday-Tuesday) scheduled for 11:15 a.m. and one scheduled for 7 p.m. (Saturday). The Aug. 11 night practice was the final evening session of training camp.

All four practices are scheduled to be in full pads, though the health of the team heading into Thursday night’s home preseason opener against the Browns could determine if those numbers stay the same.

Including the Family Night practice, the team will have 15 practices under its belt when it takes the field vs. the Browns.

Following the Cleveland contest, the team will take two days off (Aug. 17-18) from the practice field before returning on Sunday, Aug. 19. The Packers will practice Sunday, Monday and Tuesday before departing for Cincinnati on Wednesday, Aug. 22. Green Bay will take on the Bengals on Thursday, Aug. 23.